Would just quickly like to thank those of you that have already followed this story. I didn't expect anyone to read it, let alone follow it so i really do appreciate it :)

In this chapter we'll see Kurt realising that Blaine has feelings for him.

Enjoy!

Day 16

It had been two weeks to the day that Blaine had decided to walk away from Kurt and he had kept to the promise that he had made himself. He only ever spoke to Kurt when necessary during the classes that they already had together and apart from that he kept well away from him. Mr Schu and Quinn had kept pestering him throughout the last two weeks to join Glee club. Quinn said she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible and Mr Schu was convinced that Blaine had the kind of talent the New Directions needed to get to Nationals. A part of Blaine did want to join the Glee club but he knew that this would mean spending more time with Kurt and that wasn't going to be possible for him. It was hard enough spending as much time as he already did with Kurt, Blaine constantly finding himself fighting away feelings and pushing away urges to touch Kurt's face, his hand, his lips.

It was a Tuesday and Blaine was sitting in chemistry, on time for once. He was waiting for Kurt to arrive so they could continue their project. Despite Blaine's efforts to ignore Kurt as much as possible, he enjoyed the lessons they spent together; he liked to know that Kurt was getting on alright. Things had been better for Kurt since he had joined the Glee club. Whenever Blaine saw him around school he was with Mercedes, Finn or Rachel so Blaine felt that Kurt had more protection from Karofsky now that he had friends to watch his back. For once in his life, Blaine was thankful for the misfits that were the Glee club; at least Kurt would be ok now.

It was fifteen minutes into the lesson and Kurt didn't show up. Blaine felt a worry creeping over him. People took days off all the time, he knew this. But today was the day that Glee club practiced; he didn't think it would've been Kurt's first choice to have a day off on a Tuesday.

Blaine continued with their project alone, trying his best to put any bad thoughts out of his mind. Maybe he was just ill, people couldn't choose when they were ill. Or perhaps he had a doctor's appointment, or maybe he had to go to the dentist. Or maybe he'd been beaten up by Karofsky and just left there or maybe he had been thrown in the dumpster and the lid had been put down on him and he was lying in the dark, cold and scared.

It was thirty minutes into the lesson and bad thoughts kept swirling around Blaine's mind. Blaine could feel himself getting increasingly agitated. All concentration for their project left him and instead he found himself fidgeting and staring at the clock and then the door, the clock and then the door. Blaine could feel something wasn't right; he was too convinced that Kurt wouldn't take a day off on a Tuesday.

"Are you alright, Blaine?" his teacher looked up from her desk and over at him. Blaine's head whipped around to stare at her. "You look awfully pale."

"Actually, I don't feel so good," Blaine said, painfully. "Can I be excused?"

"Yes of course," the teacher said smiling at him weakly. "Let me just write you a hall pass." But Blaine had already leapt out of his seat and left the classroom before she could even reach over to her drawer.

Blaine hurried down the corridor and took the immediate left afterwards so he wasn't seen by his teacher should she come out and look for him. He slumped against the wall and had a think. Where should he go? Where should he look? The dumpster first, he thought to himself. Yes the dumpster first, loads of new kids get put in there.

He pulled his bag on to his shoulder and hurried towards the front entrance to the school. He prayed he wouldn't run into Coach Sylvester who was always on the warpath for students without a hall pass but luckily, he didn't see hide or hair of her. He quickly exited the school and made a bee line for the dumpsters at the front of the school, lifting them both up quickly to have a look inside. A quick look in each one told him Kurt was not in there. He gave a sigh of relief but then worry crept over him again. If he's not there, Blaine thought. Then where is he?

He decided to check the place where he had first seen Kurt been abused by Karofsky, he couldn't think of anywhere else to look. But a quick glance down the street told him Kurt was not there either. Blaine could feel his breathing quickening as more and more time passed and there was still no sign of Kurt.

"This is ridiculous," Blaine whispered to himself. "Pull yourself together Anderson. This boy, he isn't anything to you. He doesn't need looking after by you. He's fine, he'll be at home ill or he has an appointment somewhere. Stop now." He took a quick glance at his watch which told him that he had ten minutes before he had to be in Spanish. There was no point going to chemistry now so instead he headed to the bathroom to hide away from Coach Sylvester until the bell rang. He went to the same bathroom that he had been to the day he first met Kurt and leant up against the wall of the bathroom, catching his breath and calming himself down.

Suddenly, he heard a sob from inside one of the cubicles. Blaine's head whipped round to face the cubicles and saw that, indeed, one of them was unavailable. He quietly walked up to it and listened carefully, waiting to see if there would be another. A few seconds later, there it was and he knew it was Kurt immediately. The sob was relatively high pitched and Blaine just knew it was him.

He stood frozen to the spot for a few seconds, deliberating how to handle this. Did he knock and call out to him? Did he just stay there and wait for Kurt to come out; he would have to eventually. Did he just leave and confront him about it later or leave and never speak of it?

Before he'd had a chance to make up his mind, Blaine's subconscious made it for him. He found his feet walking over to the cubicle and found his hand reaching up to knock on it without him telling it to.

"Kurt?" he called out gently. "Kurt, its Blaine. I know it's you in there." Blaine could hear Kurt take a sharp intake of breath and then hold it steady. But there was no movement of Kurt coming to the door.

"Kurt, please," Blaine called out. "Please, just come out, talk to me." Still there was nothing. He couldn't even hear Kurt's breathing anymore.

"Kurt," Blaine hammered his fist on the door in desperation. "I'm worried now… I'm not leaving until you come out." This did the trick. Blaine heard a slow movement from inside the cubicle and he took a step back as he heard the lock slowly being pulled back. The door creaked open and Blaine gasped as he took in the sight.

Kurt's eyes were red and puffy from crying and his hair was more dishevelled then ever but this wasn't what caught Blaine's eye. Kurt's nose was purpling on the bridge and he had dried blood all around his mouth. There was a deep cut on his lip and the skin around his eye was purple. His shirt was torn at the shoulder and he could see a deep cut on his shoulder that had turned the material of his shirt around his shoulder a deep red.

"Kurt…" Blaine whispered. Blaine felt his heart clench inside his chest and his eyes filled with painful tears. He fought his tears back and didn't allow them to fall. "Oh my god, Kurt who did this?"

Blaine knew the answer before the question had even escaped his lips and Kurt's silence was enough to determine it. Guilt washed over Blaine as he realised how wrong he had been. Of course the Glee club couldn't protect Kurt, how had he been so stupid? If anything, surely being a part of the Glee club had just made the potential danger worse. Suddenly another feeling over took his guilt, a feeling that grew from his chest and took over his whole being. He was so angry. He felt his cheeks puff out and his face redden. How could someone do this? How could someone be so cold and ignorant?

"Come on," Blaine said, trying his best to keep his voice steady. "We have five minutes before the bell goes and the hallways are filled. We need to get out of here before then."

"Where are we supposed to be going?" Kurt whispered weakly. Blaine's anger turned to sadness for a brief while as he stared at Kurt, stared at this broken boy in front of him.

"We're going to my house," Blaine decided quickly. "You can't stay here. Not like this. Please… please just come with me." Kurt gave a small nod and Blaine gestured for Kurt to follow him. Thank god it had rained that morning and he'd driven to school.

Blaine led Kurt through the corridors swiftly, very aware of the fact that the bell was going to go at any second. As they reached the doors to the entrance of the school, the bell rang and Blaine quickened his steps, not wishing anyone to see Kurt in this state or for any teachers to see them leaving. They raced across the parking lot and jumped into Blaine's car, Blaine hurriedly putting the key in the ignition and zooming out the parking lot.

The car ride was silent. Blaine was trying to control his thoughts as best he could, trying not to scare Kurt. Blaine was so angry, so angry at himself and at Karofsky. Why had Karofsky done this? No one could possibly be so small minded as to hurt someone in such a way just for the fact that they were gay, surely not! How could he, Blaine, be so small minded as to think that his politely asking Karofsky to leave Kurt alone could possibly be enough to protect him? Blaine's breathing was impossibly loud as the anger seeped out of him. But Blaine had other thoughts too. He was here alone, with Kurt, the boy that had changed his world and would be for the remainder of the day. He had promised himself to stay away from Kurt and yet, here he was, driving Kurt back to his home. What was he thinking?

Blaine pulled into the drive of his car and turned off the ignition. He leaned back in his chair, swirling the key in his fingers and let his breath blow out from him. He stole a quick glance over at Kurt. The swelling around Kurt's eye was worsening and his lip was starting to double in size. He was staring out the front window, a tear falling freely down his cheek. Blaine wanted to reach out to him so badly, wanted to squeeze his fingers and tell him that it would all be okay and that he would look after him. But he knew he couldn't.

He opened the door to his car and ran round to open Kurt's door for him. Kurt looked up at Blaine and Blaine had an overwhelming feeling to put his hand on Kurt's cheek. He almost did as well, lifting his hand up but quickly controlled himself and, instead, pretended he was lifting his arm to help Kurt out of the car.

"Don't worry, no one's home," Blaine murmured quickly as he opened the door to his house. It was a beautiful home, with oak floors, cream walls and high ceilings. Blaine led Kurt up the oak staircase and across the landing to his room, helping Kurt on to his bed. Blaine's room was a soft green colour, with a big double bed on the right hand side. There was a wooden desk with a wooden chair and a small table lamp, Blaine's school books and pens littered across it. One wall was covered by a giant wardrobe and a bookshelf, one of the shelves filled with books, the one beneath it filled with CD's. There was a small bed side table next to Blaine's bed with a reading lamp and a book that Blaine was clearly reading. One wall had a big poster of Katy Perry with a little table underneath that beheld a big stereo system. There was a huge window over Blaine's study table with one window slightly ajar. Kurt took in this room as Blaine led Kurt over to the bed.

"Lie down," Blaine instructed quietly. "I'll be back in a minute." Blaine went downstairs and filled a bowl with warm water and searched the cupboard under the sink for the first aid kit that his mother kept. He went back to his room and saw Kurt lying on his back in the middle of his bed with his eyes closed. He looked like a small scared child, so innocent and vulnerable with his eyes closed. Blaine chucked the book from his bedside table on to his desk to make room for the bowl and pulled a soft cloth out from the first aid kit. He lay the cloth in the bowl and let it soak up the warm water.

"I'm so sorry," Blaine managed to say as he squeezed the excess water from the cloth and started gently wiping away the dried blood from Kurt's face. Kurt jumped when Blaine first touched him with the cloth, his eyes opening to stare at Blaine, not expecting the touch. He soon relaxed though and closed his eyes again, enjoying the warmth.

"Why are you sorry?" Kurt whispered softly, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice.

"I didn't protect you from him," Blaine said painfully. "I promised I would help you and I couldn't. I thought that perhaps now you had your new friends from the Glee club you wouldn't be travelling alone. I was wrong, I see that now." Blaine continued to wipe away the dry blood from Kurt's face and nose. He had a strong feeling to cry. Seeing Kurt like this was so painful to him.

"It isn't your fault," Kurt replied. "It's my fault." Blaine pulled the cloth away from Kurt's face, anger growing inside of him.

"How is it your fault?" Blaine growled. Sensing Blaine's anger and missing the soothing warm cloth, Kurt opened his eyes to face Blaine.

"Because I'm gay," Kurt whispered. "I was an idiot for even thinking about coming out of the closet and telling people in Lima, Ohio. What did I expect? There're so many small minded, ignorant people here. I shouldn't have been so arrogant as to think that no one would care about my sexuality. I should've waited until I'd moved away to somewhere more liberal before coming out."

"Nothing," Blaine growled, this small speech from Kurt making him even angrier. "Nothing about this is your fault. Why shouldn't you be who you want to be? Why shouldn't you be who you are? Most people don't care, look at all your friends from the Glee club, none of them care and they're such a random mix of people. The only person who cares is Karofsky and that's only because he now has an excuse to flex his muscles and determine his status as the school bully. None of this is your fault."

Kurt blinked a few times in astonishment as Blaine threw the cloth into a bin in the corner and pulled a new one out and soaked that in the water too.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Kurt asked quietly. "Why are you helping me? You don't have to." Blaine looked up from the bowl and looked at Kurt. Kurt was staring at him with those crystal blue eyes, filled with curiosity.

"I want to," Blaine sighed, looking back to the bowl. "It's my fault that this has happened and shockingly enough, I do actually have a heart and I do care. Now take off your shirt please so I can have a look at your shoulder." Kurt lay still for a few moments, processing this news. Blaine cared about him, like actually cared enough to ditch school for the day, bring him back to his house and clean him up. Kurt felt a clench around his heart; no one apart from his dad and his mum when she was alive had cared about him before. Kurt sat up slowly and undid the buttons of his shirt and took it off, folding it and placing it carefully at the foot of the bed. He lay back down and closed his eyes.

Blaine looked up from the bowl and over at Kurt. His body was porcelain pale, shaped to perfection, faint lines over his abdominal muscles. There was a slight dip in the space between his chest and shoulder, his shoulders were big and toned. He really was beautiful. Blaine took a sharp intake of breath and forced himself to control his feelings. He really didn't want to be attracted to Kurt this way, he couldn't let himself be. Look at what had happened to Kurt just for being gay, let alone what could happen to them both if they ever exposed their feelings in public.

Blaine sighed as he looked at Kurt's shoulder; the cut really was quite deep. It didn't make sense to him, how could he have a cut on his shoulder.

"What happened here?" Blaine murmured as he gently stroked the cloth over Kurt's shoulder. Kurt winced.

"He pushed me first," Kurt began, reliving the horrific memory. "And I fell forward onto someone's garden fence. The fence had those spikes on top and it sliced my shoulder as I fell downward." Blaine closed his eyes as he imagined this. Kurt terrified and alone, lying on the floor with a deep and painful cut on his shoulder, Karofsky looming over him with a wicked grin. Kurt opened his eyes and looked up at Blaine as he cleaned his shoulder. Blaine looked pained, his face pinched, his brow furrowed.

He genuinely cares Kurt thought to himself. Why though? We're not close friends and he's with Quinn so he's not gay. Kurt stared at Blaine, stared at the thick curls, the dark eyes and his olive skin. He was so handsome. Kurt felt something deep in his stomach as Blaine continued to clean his shoulder, something that he hadn't felt for anyone before. He felt like he wanted this boy to be his, he felt like he wanted this boy to carry on looking after and that he wanted to look after him in return. He wanted to be there when Blaine was sad and angry and happy.

Blaine looked over at Kurt; Kurt's eyes were looking at him longingly. Blaine hadn't been looked at like this before, not even by Quinn. It made him feel vulnerable.

"What?" Blaine asked. Kurt didn't reply, just carried on looking at him, his eyes ablaze.

"Well this is cleaned up," Blaine said quietly. "You can use one of my shirts, you can't go home with your one, its' torn." Blaine got up and went over to his wardrobe, picking out a shirt that he thought Kurt may like. He could feel Kurt's eyes watching him.

Blaine carried on rifling through his wardrobe. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. If Kurt wanted him as Blaine thought he might, then he didn't know how he would control his own feelings. It was easy before when Kurt hated him because Blaine knew he would get a slap across the face if he even tried to act on his feelings. But now…

"Here," said Blaine, taking a shirt off a hanger and throwing it at Kurt.

"Thank you," said Kurt quietly, shrugging the shirt over his shoulders and doing up the buttons. "For everything."
"Its fine," Blaine said, sitting on the bed next to Kurt. "Just promise me something?"

"Yes?" Kurt said, doing up the last button then looking over at Blaine.

"Don't walk to school alone again. Any day when you can't walk with Finn, call someone. Mercedes or Rachel or me. I'll give you my phone number."

"I promise," Kurt whispered, passing Blaine his phone so he could key in his number. Blaine passed Kurt's phone back and as he did, their fingers brushed together. Blaine felt an electric current sweep through him as their fingers touched and he looked up at Kurt. Kurt's eyes were filled with longing, and Blaine's urge to kiss him was overwhelming. Kurt stared down at his lips and Blaine felt a movement near his groin.

Blaine brought his hand up to hold Kurt's face. He put his hand on his cheek and stroked his thumb over the cut on Kurt's lip. He knew immediately he'd already done too much. He brought his hand straight back down and jumped up from the bed. There was a look of pure astonishment on Kurt's face.

"I think you should go now," Blaine said quietly.

"Not until you tell me what just happened," Kurt responded quickly.

"It was a mistake," Blaine said, exasperated. "I don't know what came over me. I'm with Quinn, I love Quinn, I-I-I like girls!" Blaine knew it just sounded like a lame excuse; he sounded like someone who was trying to convince themselves they weren't gay and he supposed that's exactly what he was doing.

"Look," Blaine said resigned, deciding to come clean. "I have always liked girls, I DO love Quinn, I swear. I just… when you came, something happened to me. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what to do… this isn't a lifestyle I would choose for myself. I just feel an overwhelming urge to look after you, to protect you. I don't know what that means, I don't know if I want to know. I'm serious, what just happened shouldn't have happened and I'd really appreciate it if you just kept it to yourself. But I'll understand if you don't, I mean, I haven't been a great friend to you. I just need some time to know for sure. Please?" Kurt stared at Blaine stunned. He hadn't been expecting that at all. It made sense of course. Blaine had barely looked at him for a fortnight, let alone spoken to him. He'd obviously come looking for him today when he hadn't shown up to chemistry, it was the only explanation for why he had his bag with him in the bathroom. Blaine liked him but he didn't know how to act or what to do. Kurt accepted this; he knew how hard it was when he first started realising he was gay. It must be even harder for Blaine because he's so popular and he's always been attracted to girls and he was the first boy Blaine had ever had feelings for.

"I understand," Kurt nodded. "Of course I do. I will go now and thank you so much for what you've done. I really appreciate it… I'll text you or something…"

Kurt lifted himself up from the bed and left. Blaine stood frozen to the spot. He'd really fucked up now.